Page 9 of The Cruel Highlander’s Healer (Highlanders’ Feisty Brides #1)
CHAPTER NINE
“S o they’ll be alright then?”
A voice sounded from behind Eliza, giving her a start as it broke through the bubble she’d created for herself at her workspace in the kitchen. She whirled, finding Kate standing a few paces away from her, worry written across the lines of her pretty face.
“Aye,” Eliza said, giving the other woman a reassuring smile. “We’ll have to give them the tonic three times a day for at least three days. But they should start to shape right up after that.”
She watched as the maid sagged with relief. Eliza knew all too well the burden that she’d been holding for the last week, watching as everything she tried to save the children failed. She knew all too well what it felt like, wondering if all of your efforts would be in vain, and if the patient you’d slaved over would pass away despite everything you’d done.
“Ye did good, Kate,” Eliza said, another soft smile tugging up the corners of her lips. “Now, get over here so I can teach ye to make the tonic yerself. I want to get home soon.”
Kate arched an eyebrow at her, but she didn’t comment further as the other woman stepped up to the work bench that Eliza had been using.
Eliza began to go over everything, showing her how to grind the two herbs she and the Laird had foraged in the forest earlier that day. The other woman caught on quick, and Eliza couldn’t help but be impressed.
“How are ye doin’ today, Kate?”
The two women started, having been so absorbed in their work they didn’t hear the footsteps approach. They turned, finding Eliot standing behind them, watching them over their shoulders as they worked.
“I’m doin’ alright,” Kate sputtered, clearly flustered by the sudden attention. “How are ye? Out pesterin’ the cats again?”
“That was one time, lass,” Eliot groaned. “And the kittens formed an absolute horde! They were beasts, they was!
“A horde of fluffballs,” Kate chuckled, turning back to the task at hand. “Imagine, a man-at-arms scared of a couple small cotton pads hissin’ and spittin’ at him!”
Eliza laughed at the image in her mind, picturing Eliot’s large body on the run from small kittens. She turned, finding the guard staring at Kate with amusement flickering in his eyes.
His gaze flicked to Eliza, and immediately he blushed when she found her watching him. She cocked an eyebrow in his direction, letting him know she’d noticed just how intently he’d been watching the maid.
“Ye’re just in time,” she told Eliot, sparing him any further embarrassment. “I was about to go try to find the Laird. Daenae need him badgerin’ ye about nae escortin’ me if I go alone.”
Eliot nodded, and the two of them walked away leaving Kate to work on the rest of the tonics.
“What do ye need to tell the Laird?” he asked, and Eliza glanced at him.
She recalled him from the day before, when he’d come with Laird MacKinnon and kidnapped her. She’d gotten the sense then that he was the kinder of the two, and as she looked at him in that moment, she got the impression of it again.
I much prefer the brutishness of the Laird.
“The tonic will be done soon,” Eliza explained as they walked toward the Laird’s study. “We’ll administer it to the bairns for a few days, but they should start to get better soon. I want to let him ken Kate now kens how to make it, as well.”
They turned the corner to the corridor that led to the Laird’s office. Voices floated down the stone corridor, and Eliza cast a questioning glance in Eliot’s direction.
The man-at-arms shrugged, letting her know he was unaware of who the Laird was entertaining.
“Maybe we should…” Eliot began, pointing over his shoulder and indicating the way they’d just come.
But Eliza pressed her finger to her lips, shushing him as she crept forward. She glanced down at her feet, trying to ensure she didn’t step on any creaky boards as she got closer.
“…garlic,” an unfamiliar man’s voice floated out into the hallway. “And a mottlin’ of the hands. It’s the same as the bairns.”
“How many so far?” This voice was one Eliza recognized. The Laird.
“Three,” the other voice answered. “So nae many. But it’s enough that we’re worried. I daenae ken what to do, but we need help. If only the healer that ye’ve found…”
“Nay,” Laird MacKinnon’s voice immediately cut the man off. “I am nae riskin’ me healer. She’s too important. I cannae risk her nae bein’ here if the bairns need her. Or, if someone found out about her and tried to hurt her. Nae until they’re healed.”
“But it’s affectin’ more than just the bairns now!” The other man’s voice had grown louder, a little more panicked. “The sickness is clearly spreadin’, and we daenae ken how to stop it.”
“It’s nae me problem,” Conall said, his voice tense. “I told ye, I cannae…”
Eliza couldn’t stand it anymore. She placed her hand on the door and pushed it open. She heard Eliot yell a protest, but she didn’t stop to look at him.
“Me laird,” Eliot stammered from behind her. “I’m sorry. She just….”
“ She has somethin’ to say,” Eliza insisted turning to the man who was seated across from the Laird.
The man’s pudgy face was bright red with indignation, mouth agape with the surprise of having been interrupted.
“I ken how to help ye,” Eliza began, but she didn’t get to explain any further.
The man regained his composure, immediately pushing himself to standing. The chair he’d been sitting on went skittering across the floor behind him. It caught on the edge of the rug, toppling over with a clatter.
“Who do ye think ye are?” the man bellowed, face turning red with anger as he glared down at her. “Bringin’ yerself in here, into a conversation with men that has nothin’ to do with ye.”
Anger flared deep in Eliza’s belly, and she glared up at the man, refusing to back down as he towered over her.
“Careful how ye speak to me,” she hissed, “because I’m the person whose help ye need.”